Traditional individual cage housing for farmed rabbits causes severe welfare problems, and colony or park housing systems represent a significant improvement backed by growing scientific evidence.
The welfare problems with individual rabbit cage housing are well-documented and severe. Rabbits are social, active animals with strong motivation to run, jump and interact with conspecifics. Confinement in barren wire cages prevents all of these behaviours, causing stereotypies and bone fragility from inactivity. Colony systems improve welfare substantially but require careful management: group composition, space allowance, enrichment provision and health monitoring all affect outcomes. The transition from cage to colony systems is one of the clearest evidence-based welfare improvements available to the rabbit farming industry, and regulatory mandates have been the primary driver of adoption.